Editing

There’s an important step that comes between recording that last instrument and starting the mixing process. It’s called editing.

Editing can mean lots of things. Pocketing, cleaning up, comping, tuning, Beat Detective, quantizing, nudging, “flying,” copying & pasting, cutting out entire sections of the song — all of these could be put under the blanket of editing.

Let’s take a look at what editing is why you should make editing a part of your workflow. (more…)

Hi Joe, Just purchased your Understanding Editing Tutorials. And I have a question. On the 3rd video, “Drum Editing,” you are discussing about overlapping the wav forms so that the cymbals continue to ring out. Wouldn’t it be easier, if instead of grouping the cymbals with the other tracks to be edited, that you leave them alone? Or am I missing the point? If you are grouping all the tracks together, for editing purposes on the kick or the snare, why include the cymbals? I am confused as to why one would include the cymbals for a group editing, and take the risk that they don’t continue to ring out as originally played.

On Days 1-10 we talked about gear. On Days 11-19 we looked into recording techniques. For the remainder of 31 Days to Better Recordings, we’re going to look at what do to with those tracks once they’ve been recorded, things like editing, mixing, and mastering.

Today, let’s take a look at editing.

What is Editing?

That’s a fair question. You may be new to recording, or maybe you’ve just never bothered to think about editing. Either way, I think it’s worth your while to give it some thought. It might be a key factor in making better recordings.

So, what exactly IS editing? I’ve talked about it a lot here on Home Studio Corner (see Intro to Editing), but let’s review.

I released a tutorial video series last month called Understanding Editing. On the order page, I basically talk about how cool I think editing is, and what a big difference it makes on my projects.

I even included a before-and-after audio sample right there on the page.

A few days after launching UE, I got an email from a reader who basically posted a parody of my order page on his website.

He was essentially making fun of the idea that editing is a valuable part of the recording process, emphasizing instead that the musicians should simply practice more.

I completely agree that musicians should practice their craft. If you’re a musician, you really shouldn’t walk into a recording session unless you have properly rehearsed the material you’re about to record.

As I mentioned last week, I’ve got something BRAND NEW for you today. I told my HSC customers about it yesterday, and I told my newsletter folks about it this morning, now it’s your turn.

It’s a new set of tutorial videos called Understanding Editing.

This is a fun new product, and I think you’re going to like it. People tend to think they probably NEED to edit their tracks from time to time, but they’re not quite sure where to start. Sound familiar? Perhaps Understanding Editing is for you then.

It includes 3.5 hours of HD videos AND practice tracks, so you can start working on your editing skills right away. All this is available via instant download.

As a brand new HSC product, I’m offering this at a special discounted price. The price will go up to the normal price soon, so jump on this deal while you can. (And as always, there’s no risk to you, you can always request a full refund if you don’t LOVE it.)

To round out “Editing Week” here on HSC, I’ve put together an Intro to Editing video for you. It may seem a bit backwards, but we’ve talked about why you should or shouldn’t edit your tracks, and now I want to make sure all of you know the basic tools of editing and how it works.

Yesterday I gave you three reasons to edit your tracks. Today I want to play devil’s advocate and give you a few scenarios for when it doesn’t make sense to edit your tracks.

1. The Artist Doesn’t Approve

Everything you do in the studio should be done with the artist/client in mind. Whether he/she is paying you or not, you’ve been hired to take their songs and turn them into great-sounding recordings.

Sometimes artists don’t want you to mess with their performances. They have strong opinions that they want the final recording to sound exactly like what they performed. This is understandable, and you should respect their wishes.

However, take into account what genre of music they’re performing. If it’s a straight-forward country album, you may want to remind them that most country albums have been edited/pocketed pretty heavily, and that it might be in their best interest to do the same in order to compete.

On the other hand, if you’re recording somebody like Jack White who doesn’t really conform to any genre or style, you’re better off leaving his stuff alone. That rough, seemingly disorganized sound IS what he’s going for.